Happy Endings
by ourheroregina
Summary: My entries for OQ Happy Ending Week
1. Chapter 1

Day 1 - Bandit OQ happy ending.

Nice reading!

(...)

Inhaling, Regina opens her eyes slowly.

She has no idea where she is. She does not remember anything except standing up in front of that unknown boy to protect him from getting hurt. What she does remember, however, is the piercing pain that shot through her the moment the sword touched her chest and then everything is a blur.

Confused, Regina lifts her head a bit from the hard pillow but regrets the decision immediately.

Her palms turn into fists as everything around her starts to spin. She tries to breathe through uneasiness and pain that floods her body, her chest shakes with every breath she takes, making her knuckles go white from how hard she's squeezing her hands.

It's pure torture.

"Milady," she hears a voice from above her, a voice that she recognizes and her eyes snap open (she doesn't recall closing them). For a moment, everything is blurry but then her vision becomes clearer and she catches him, the man who saved her from the Evil Snow, looking at her with relief written all over his handsome face.

She tries to say something but the unbearable pain in her chest forbids her and only a gasp escapes her as she closes her eyes, trying to steady her breathing so that it wouldn't hurt so much.

"Stay calm, milady," he says in that annoyingly sweet voice that he probably uses when he talks with small children and she scrunches her nose at him, but even that takes the pain to a higher level. "You were injured pretty badly but the healer cleaned your wound and patched it up," Robin tells her and she gives him what she hopes is an understanding look, praying he'll get its meaning.

It seems Robin does get what she means because he only smiles sympathetically at her and squeezes her hand. He stands up then from his chair and walks to the nightstand, puts a washcloth into the water and then brings it to Regina's forehead.

She hisses as the cold cloth makes contact with her hot skin (she probably has some kind of infection which made her feverish, she thinks) and even that little sound makes the muscles of her body tense, reminding her why she was trying to stay so still in the first place.

"The healer said you are forbidden to leave bed for a few days," Robin continues to speak, and if Regina wasn't in so much pain, she would have laughed at his words because she's pretty sure she's not capable of lifting one single finger up. "But you'll fine, milady. I'll make sure that you'll survive all of this."

Robin's words make Regina frown and she wants to say something, to ask where she is or what happened after she got injured, how he found her but the weakness overtake her body and she falls into unconsciousness where there's no pain.

(…)

When Regina wakes up next time, she feels better. She still has to open her eyes slowly but when she does, the ceiling above her is no longer turning. Breathing has become a bit easier, only every other inhale makes her grit her teeth from pain.

She smiles to herself as she slowly lifts one hand, then another and it might hurt like a bitch but she can survive that, it's nothing compared to what she was feeling when she woke up for the first time. She shifts a bit then and tries to sit up.

It turns out to be a huge mistake.

She screams out in pain, can't help it, and falls back on bed, her whole body shaking. Every breath is an agony, every moment spent not breathing is an agony too and she fists the sheets as hard as she possibly can and tries to breathe, tries to stop the shaking of her body, tries to wait until this pain will lessen.

"Regina!"

Robin's alarmed voice is heard and it doesn't take a second until there's a zipper sound heard and Robin is rushing to her side, his face anxious. She sees a few other men walk into what she finally notices is a tent but she stays focused on Robin's eyes, those blue eyes that she thinks she was born to gaze into but her faith was cruel - he married another.

"I'm alright," she manages, her throat sore and scratchy.

It takes a while but the pain finally lessens and turns into something that she can take without squeezing sheets in her hands. She still breathes cautiously, afraid of putting herself into unbearable pain again.

"Are you thirsty?" Robin asks when the men leave the tent, zipping it up and leaving the two of them alone.

Water would be amazing right now but she shakes her head – moving does not sound amazing at all. She watches as Robin takes a chair from the other end of the tent and carries it to Regina's bed. He sits down on it then and takes her hand in his.

"You scared the hell out of us," Robin tells her with a small, unsure smile on his face. Regina arches an eyebrow at him – they knew each other for like… one day, and she definitely feels something for him but there's no way he could feel the same, after all he got married.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, her voice too weak to say words loudly. "I promise to leave your tent as soon as I am able to get out of this bed," she tells him, feeling guilty. She does not remember the last time someone took care of her and asked for nothing in return or made some cruel things to her.

She's learned her lessons the hard way and now she's able to protect herself. She's not afraid of Robin but she's not the one to take help from others, she does not trust easily and if the pain wasn't so bad, she would be on her way now.

"No worries, you can stay here for as long as you need," he assures her. After a beat, he adds, "Even though we are rivals, we can forget our differences right now, at least until you get better."

Regina stays quiet, not knowing what else to say.

For a moment they stay in a comfortable silence and Robin takes her hand in his and strokes it, and Regina blames it on some sort of drugs that must be coursing with her blood for making her so damn weak for this thief with deep blue eyes.

Trying to distract herself from the thoughts that should not be invading her mind, she asks, "What happened after I got hurt?"

"Well, the man who did this to you disappeared. The boy you saved took your blood, and you'll not believe it but he used it as an ink to write something. As soon as he finished, he, the blonde woman and some crazy man disappeared and you were left there bleeding down to death," he says, squeezing her hand. "Me and my men brought you to our camp, found a healer that saved your life."

Regina swallows hard, feeling so conflicted and confused at the same time. Her thoughts drift back to this unexplainable pull she felt towards that boy, there was an unknown need to protect him so badly that she didn't even care about her own life.

The boy is gone now and she'll never get her answers, so instead she changes the topic.

"Where is your wife?"

"She… disappeared." Robin frowns, and then explains, "She ran away right after our wedding ceremony. A few days later I got a letter from her telling me that our marriage was a mistake and that she's leaving to the West side of the land."

Regina's eyes widen in surprise. "A few days later? How long have I been staying here?"

"For about two weeks now, milady."

Regina gasps at the revelation. Two weeks. She's been here for two weeks. The air is stuck in her throat as she curses herself over and over again. She's pretty sure her little home in the middle of the forest now belongs to someone else while she's laying here hurt and homeless now.

Wonderful. Just wonderful.

"I'm so sorry for putting you through all this trouble." Regina says after a moment, turning to look at Robin who tells her that it was no trouble at all. Still, she assures him, "I promise to pay you for your hospitality and as soon as I'm back on my feet I'll leave and you'll never have to see me again."

Robin doesn't seem to agree with her but he keeps his thoughts to himself and smiles at her instead, squeezing her hand again in a comforting way.

She could stare into his eyes for the rest of her life.

(…)

Recovering is a hard process.

She tries to get better as quickly as possible but it takes another two weeks for her to finally get out of the bed without screaming out in pain. She can barely eat for the pain most of the time is way too much and that awful scar in the middle of her chest doesn't make her feel any better either.

After getting out of the bed things become easier. Before she knows it, she's able to walk without support around the camp of the men who somehow became her friends, and she's able to eat properly, she can even chuckle without feeling like her insides are being torn apart. Even though getting up from bed, sitting up or standing up still makes tears collect at the corners of her eyes she's getting better.

She's finally getting strong enough to leave.

And she tells Robin so one evening when he escorts her to her tent (evenings are not the best part of the day, after a day on feet she barely makes it to bed on her own).

"I think I'm strong enough to live on my own," she says slowly and she can feel as Robin immediately tenses beside her. They've become closer during those weeks she stayed with them, they bonded while talking about thievery and their secret tricks, and Regina would be lying if she said that she's not sad to leave this camp.

She would be lying if she said that she didn't developed feelings for this thief.

"Maybe… maybe you could stay?" Robin offers, stopping their slow walk. He turns her aching body a bit so she's looking directly to his face and for a moment he just looks at her. Then he inhales deeply and stutters, "I… you became a part of our … family, Regina. You've become a friend to all of us and I would hate to see you leave us."

"What are you saying?" She asks, confused.

"You can stay with us." He tells her, making her eyes turn wide. "You're a wonderful bandit and we would be honored to have you in our band. You're also a wonderful friend to me and even if you don't see it, you helped me to survive the hardest part of my life – being left by a wife is not as simple as it looks."

"Robin, I could never-"

"Please, think about it," he asks her, "Don't give me an answer now. Just think about it."

"I…" she stares at him at a loss of words, opening her mouth over and over again but no words come out.

Robin smiles at her and wraps his arm around her again, helps her go to bed and lie down. Then he pulls the sheet over her body and takes her hand, squeezes it and tells her that he would love to have her around for the rest of his life.

That night Regina doesn't sleep. She thinks about all cons and pros of staying with the band of Merry Men, she thinks about what it means to them to take her in permanently – she's sure Snow White will be not only after Regina, but after them too.

She's good at being alone and she liked the life that she's built for herself – a life where she's a homeless person who barely gets to eat but it was still better than living in the castle with that crazy woman – but now, now she got used to the loud voices of men, to inappropriate jokes and stories around the campfire. She got used to Robin's arm wrapped around her for support while they walk around the campsite and his forest scent.

She thinks that she's good at being alone and she can always go back to it if she doesn't like being in a band of thieves.

And so she tells Robin and this band the first thing in the morning that she's staying. The reaction she gets from those men surprises her and makes tears collect in her eyes – they all applaud her and hug her and some of them squeeze her too tight making her grit her teeth in pain but she's still happy, as happy as she has never been before.

And when finally Robin approaches her, he pulls her into his arms but instead of hugging, he presses his lips against hers, surprising her. She doesn't hesitate and responds, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer, ignoring the pain that rushes through her as their chest press together.

She's dreamt about this moment for so long now, and it seems that Robin did, too.

And as a group of wild men whistle around them, Regina thinks that this is what a happy life feels like.

In the back of her head she realizes that she's found her happy ending in the middle of the woods with thieves and criminals, and she could never regret giving up the life that she once had.


	2. Chapter 2

Day 2 - Stuck in Missing Year

(...)

Regina exhales and closes her eyes.

They are finally gone, all of them – obnoxious Charming, annoying Snow White, Guyliner, Granny, Archie, the dwarfs. The people that once upon a time Regina hated the most are on their way back to another realm, realm where Emma and Henry is.

Regina would've never believed that she could feel sad because those idiots were gone.

Turned out she could.

She's tried to make amends with most of them during the year spent back in the Enchanted Forest, thought that's what Henry would've wanted. Not everyone forgave her as easily as Snow, not that she needed their forgiveness, she just didn't want to fight anymore, but after a few months they've found peace with one another and living in one castle wasn't so bad anymore.

But now when they are gone, Regina feels her blood boiling in her veins, rage threatening to snap out. She feels humiliated and hurt because those people got a chance to go back to Storybrooke or whatever was left of it and live the life with those they loved the most while she was cursed to stay here forever, trying to fight her mad sister.

For a brief moment, Regina thought she would be able to go back with the citizens of Storybrooke. The curse that brought them back clearly said that Regina had to stay away from the person she loves the most – Henry, but when the opportunity to go back arose, she felt hopeful. However, her hopes were crushed because Zelena paid her a visit and told her that Regina can happily cross the realms, but as soon as she and Henry happens to be in the same realm, her beloved son dies.

That day Regina almost killed Zelena. Almost.

Now she's stuck in a realm where people see her as the Evil Queen (but that's who she actually is, right?), and her own sister is threatening to kill her on a daily basis, and her heart breaks every time she remembers that she will never see Henry again (she remembers it very often).

Dying doesn't sound so bad anymore.

All of a sudden she feels a warm air hit the back of her neck, making her whole body become as tense as a string. She's been so lost in her depressing thoughts that she didn't even hear how someone walked into the chamber.

Damn it!

She's such an easy target.

She quickly turns around, ready to fight the intruder but instead of an enemy, she finds Robin Hood, the most annoying and loyal thief she's ever had a chance to meet, standing there, looking at her with pity in his eyes.

"What the hell, Robin?" She exclaims, her hand falling over her rapidly beating heart.

He doesn't seem affected by her sudden rage for his voice is quiet and full of sympathy when he asks, "How are you holding up, milady?"

For a moment Regina just stares at him, into his deep blue and lovely eyes and she doesn't push him away when he takes her hands in his and squeezes in that comforting way he usually does whenever she's feeling down.

She should pull away from him.

Robin is a good man, he is brave and kind and has a huge heart, a heart that will be broken if Regina doesn't push him away. She knows they're destined to be together, has seen his tattoo many times during their nightly meetings, but she has never said a word about it to him.

From his point of view, Regina was using him to make herself feel better and nothing more.

But deep down, she knew that there was something going on in her heart and mind whenever Robin entered her thoughts. However, she could never let herself act on those thoughts and feelings because it would ruin Robin's life, his men lives, maybe even Roland's.

She's poisoned and she's not going to risk Robin's life.

Finally finding strength in herself she takes a step back from him, rolls her eyes and answers his question, "I have never been happier. I will never have to see Snow White's face again. This day should be a national holiday."

Robin doesn't believe her lies, only furrows his brow at her and looks straight into her eyes. For a brief moment Regina stares back at him, waiting for his next move. However, when he doesn't do or say anything, Regina takes matters into her own hands.

"Did you come here to tell me that you're going back into the forest?" she asks, taking a step closer him, her eyes challenging him. She expects him to take a step back for she uses all of her power to show him that he should feel threatened but Robin doesn't even blink. That bastard has never been afraid of her. "Now that Charmings don't keep me on the leash anymore I suggest you pack your things and leave before I decide to throw you out of my castle."

She hopes that he'll listen to her and give up without a fight.

He doesn't.

Instead of backing down, Robin takes a step closer to her and pulls her into his arms. She doesn't fight him, lets his arms wrap around her and pull her closer – who knows, maybe it's the last time they are together like that.

"When will you admit to yourself that you feel something for me?" he asks and for a second his face turns into a playful smirk but then he becomes serious. "Everything that happened between us, everything that I've said to you is true, Regina," he tells her and quickly leans over and presses his lips against hers.

Before she has time to respond, he's pulling away and staring at her.

"I'm not leaving you," he adds firmly. "Me and my men, we vow to protect your castle and you."

"Robin, it's stupid, why would they-"

"There are very few people in my life that I care about as much as I care about you," Robin cuts her off, and the revelation has Regina taking a step back from him. "I know that you're hurt and that you do not want me, but I'm not asking for permission to protect you from that damn witch, or anyone else for that matter."

"I don't need your protection," Regina reminds him, "I could kill you with a wave of my hand right now. I could kill all of your men. Do you really want to risk that?"

"You wouldn't leave Roland an orphan," Robin points out, feeling confident. Regina has to admit that is true. "I'm not asking anything from you, I'm just letting you know that we're staying in the castle. We're not leaving you to fight this battle alone"

With that Robin turns on his hell and walks towards the door. Feeling confused, Regina rushes after him and grabs his wrist, makes him turn around and face her. Her eyes are full of tears when she whispers, "Thank you, Robin," and presses her lips against his.

When they part, Robin grins and wraps his arm around her, telling her that there's a surprise apple pie waiting for her in the kitchen that Roland cooked. And as she laughs, her heart clenching at the kindness of the action, she feels something that she's not felt for a really long time – hope.

Hope, that one day, maybe years from today, the scars on her heart will finally be healed and she'll let herself fall in love with Robin again without fear that his life will be destroyed.

Regina thinks that perhaps she would be able to find happiness with this man and his wonderful son.

She just has to wait and see.


	3. Chapter 3

Day 3 - Dark OQ Happy Ending

This piece is a continuation for Dark OQ Week, **Day Four (chapter four)**.

(...)

At first Regina feels a feather light touch on her cheek, then she's being moved a bit and finally lifted from the hard and uncomfortable floor. She wants to protest, to open her eyes and demand that this someone would put her down but she spent the last few hours crying and she still feels so tired that instead of arguing, she just curls into this someone (it's Robin, the forest scent is all around her now) and falls into unconsciousness again.

(…)

Groaning, she rolls onto another side, away from the dazzling sunrays. She lets her hand fall onto her eyes, and she still feels so tired. She's not even fully awake yet but her whole body is weak and aching already.

After a few moments of lying in silence and trying to fall back asleep, she realizes that sleep is out of options. Her head is full of thoughts, realization of what she's found out yesterday still stings, and there's no way for her to rest anymore.

Sighing, she forces her very heavy eyelids to open.

She's back in her chambers, back in her own king-sized bed. She vaguely remembers how she felt arms around her in her sleep, and it must have been Robin and she wanted to open her eyes and tell him that she knows the truth but was too tired to do so.

Tears fill her eyes immediately and she swallows hard as memories of what made her so tired (and weak that she couldn't even reach her own bed) in the first place return to her mind.

Robin is not who he's pretending to be.

He's not Wish Robin, he's not _her_ Robin.

He is _Robin. Regina's_ Robin.

"Good morning,"

Regina's whole body tenses and she immediately turns her head towards the source of the sound. Robin is standing at the end of the bed, looking at her with a frown on his face. He looks worried.

"How are you feeling this morning, milady?" he asks as he approaches her. The nickname he used on her stings now because he used to call _Regina_ that, and deep down he probably dreams of her when he says this word. He probably wishes it was the good one with him instead of evil.

"I'm fine," Regina lies easily. She sits up shakily and presses her lips into what she hopes is an assuring smile and not a grimace.

In her mind, she curses herself.

The Queen knew that love is weakness. The reason why she was created was heartbreak that could only be caused by love as pure as the love Regina's felt for Daniel. But when Robin of Locksley walked into her life, she threw the cautions out of the window and just let herself fall for him.

Partly she blames Regina for it – that stupid hope speech messed up with her mind.

"I found you lying on the floor outside our room, Regina," Robin says in a serious voice. He doesn't believe her. "I'm pretty sure there were tears tracks all over your cheeks too."

"I had a nightmare," she tells him simply with a shrug. She has many nightmares that have her waking up sweaty and screaming, it's actually possible for her to wake up and leave the chambers after a nightmare (it didn't happen this time but Robin doesn't know that).

Robin stays silent for a moment and just stares at her, still not sure if he should believe her or not. Regina stares right back at him, she stares into his blue eyes which are just a little bit lighter, then she moves her gaze to his dark blonde hair which is an inch longer.

It is so obvious that this is _Robin._

How could she be so stupid and not see the difference between the two of them? Wish Robin was different, he was dark as were his eyes and hair, he was good deep within but he didn't like children, didn't like Roland, he wasn't as loving as this Robin is.

But Wish Robin was still good because he was hers and not _Regina's._

Regina must've fallen for him so much that she didn't even notice how he changed.

She's so stupid.

"Why didn't you wake me up then?" Robin's question snaps Regina out of her thoughts. She blinks her eyes a few times and focuses back on his face. Robin gives her a look, says, "I woke up in the middle of the night alone. I thought you were with Roland but when I came out to the hall I found you outside our chamber, curled up on the floor. In that moment I thought that something horrible must have happened to you."

"I'm fine, Robin," she insists, her eyes begging him to let this go. She doesn't think she's strong enough to talk to him about what she found out now.

Disapprovingly Robin stares at her for a bit longer but then finally he sighs and closes his eyes, letting her know that he'll not talk about it anymore. Feeling as if a huge weight was lifted off of her chest, Regina sighs too.

Robin wraps his arm around her and Regina doesn't move away but she has to press her lips together so that she wouldn't start sobbing.

Love for this man is going to break her.

(…)

It's been a few days since Regina found out the truth about Robin and everything in her life has changed. He didn't act any different than before, he still kissed her good morning and good night, told her he loves her on every chance he got but Regina felt that there was a huge obstacle right now.

She doesn't say anything to him, doesn't voice her fears that he'll leave her for _his_ Regina. Deep down, however, she's terrified. As much as she hates to admit that, she loves him and losing him would lead her down the very dark path.

So she doesn't try to think about it much, tries to keep herself busy. At the same time she tries to prepare herself for his departure. She tries to prepare herself for the loss of him and Roland at the same time because Robin Hood is a wonderful father and there's no chance in this world that he'll leave his son behind.

That's why Regina tries to spend as much time as possible with Roland. It's one of the reasons why she bakes apple turnovers in the middle of the night just to make her little knight happy. That's why she's holding him in her arms as much as possible.

"Regina," Roland whines one afternoon as he wiggles in her arms. She loosens her hold on him when she realizes that she might be squeezing him too tight and watches as he pulls away from her, his huge brown eyes opened wide.

Regina chuckles at his confused expression.

"You're hugging me as if we'll never see each other again," Roland states, making Regina's heart squeeze. He looks straight into her eyes as he assures her, "I'm not even going far, Regina, I'll be in the backyard collecting apples for that pie we're making later today."

She swallows hard over the lump in her throat and nods her head, "I know, baby, I just love you so much."

She hugs him one last time, then forces herself to let him go. When Roland assures her one more time that he's not going to disappear and runs out into the garden, Regina wraps her arms around herself, secretly resting her palm over her invisible baby bump.

She's lost a child before and she knows that losing another will break her.

Suddenly those tears she's been trying so hard to stop, start falling down her cheeks.

(…)

Regina lies awake in bed for hours, staring into Robin's relaxed features. He's kissed her goodnight a few hours ago, and he obviously wanted to deepen their kiss but Regina stopped him, dismissingly telling him that she's just tired.

And now Robin is sleeping while she's still wide awake.

She studies his handsome face, a smile spreading across her face as she runs her fingers over his stubble. He's handsome, he's a great thief, a wonderful father, the most loving partner she's had in her life. He always tries to see good in people.

He'll raise their baby right.

After the Queen does what she's planned to do, he and Regina will be so happy, no doubt.

Blinking her eyes, she slowly rolls onto her back. Her palm rests over her flat but hard stomach as tears spring free from the corners of her eyes and she whispers into the air, "Your daddy will take care of you. He'll raise you right, I have no doubt."

She's finally made up her mind. She's decided that as soon as the baby is born, she'll give him or her to Robin, let their child live in another realm with a mother much better than she ever could be. She doesn't think it would be fair for the Evil Queen to raise the baby when Robin obviously is a much better parent. Also, he would have help from her better half.

The Queen doesn't think it is right to raise a child alone when the baby could live in a family where he would be loved by both parents.

She doesn't think it would be fair to keep her baby. After all, she's pretty sure she would raise the child to be evil anyway.

"You'll not even notice that I'm not there with you," she assures herself more than the baby in her belly, "Your aunt Regina will be a brilliant mother and your daddy will give everything to you. I'm assured you'll never lack anything, baby, I'm sure they will never let you be evil, not like your mother."

She presses her lips together, trying to stop the sob that's threatening to escape her lips. Giving the baby away will break her into pieces (even the thought of it breaks her) but she has to give her child their best chance and it is definitely not with her.

All of a sudden she feels a warm and heavy hand on top of her own on her belly and her whole body tenses, her heart stops beating in her chest as her eyes turn wide.

Shit.

No, no, no.

"You're pregnant," Robin's words are whispered but full of surprise and his hand only tightens around hers, his body shifting closer until he's pressed to her side, his nose burred in her hair. "Regina, my Gods, you're pregnant," he repeats, his hand squeezing hers but she manages to pull away from him and sit up.

For a moment she wonders if he regrets that she, of all people, is carrying his child, but then she shakes that thought off and tries to move away from him but he catches her by the wrist, stopping her.

She refuses to meet his eyes and instead quietly demands that he lets her go, but he doesn't listen. He does the opposite – moves closer to her and cups her cheek, makes her look up to his face. She gives in and meets his blue orbs and all of her walls immediately crumble down.

Tears start running down her cheeks and she tries to angrily wipe it away but Robin pulls her into his arms, holding her shaking body close to his chest, his hand running up and down her back in what is supposed to be a soothing manner.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asks quietly after she's finally calmed down and pulled away from him. His question is not accusing, just full of confusion. He tries to put his hand on her stomach but she stands up before he can do that.

"I didn't want you to feel trapped," she replies with a shrug and takes another step away from him.

"Trapped? Regina, what are you talking about?"

"I know who you are," she whispers, her voice shaking too much for her to speak loudly. Robin, that bastard, has the courage to act surprised. "I know that you're Robin Hood from Enchanted Forest. I know that Wish realm Robin, _my Robin_ , is gone. I know that somehow you're back."

"Regina, I-"

"You don't owe me an explanation," she assures him, turning around and walking towards the door.

Robin jumps out of the bed and when he reaches her, he blocks her way, asks her to talk with him. But she doesn't feel like talking anymore, she doesn't want to hurt herself even more. He'll leave, maybe not tomorrow but as soon as the baby is born, she is sure. There's no reason to talk with him.

"Just please, let me say goodbye to Roland before you leave," she asks as she grabs the robe from the end of the bed and puts it around her. Before Robin gets a chance to say anything, she rushes out of their chambers to Roland's.

When Robin doesn't follow her, she sighs in relief.

(…)

When Regina wakes up, she's alone in a too small bed. Her neck aches as she turns on her side and she curses quietly before she finally opens her eyes. She gasps in surprise when she finds Robin sitting in front of her in the rocking chair, looking like he hasn't been sleeping for a long time.

She groans and closes her eyes. It is hard as it is, why does Robin has to make it ten times harder?

"What did you mean when you asked to let you say goodbye to Roland?" Robin asks, arching an eyebrow at her. "I'm not going to leave you, Regina."

Regina rolls her eyes at him and turns her back to him, faces the wall. For a moment, she is quiet, thinking about his words. Then she inhales and says, "You can go back to Regina, Robin. I know that you love her, not me, that's alright. I promise to keep the baby safe until it is born and then I'll give our child to you, no worries." She rests her hand over her belly and rubs it for a while, then continues, "I know that I'm not fit to be a mother and you'll be a great dad so we don't have to fight about it."

"I'm not going to leave you, do you hear me?" He repeats, his voice hard. He walks around the bed and then kneels beside it so they're looking eye to eye. "I have no idea where all of these depressing thoughts came from but I would never take our child away from you. You're a wonderful person and there's no reason for you to give up your child when you're the perfect mother and -"

"Please, don't make this even more difficult," she cuts him off, shaking her head. "I know that you love _her_ , she was your soulmate, your other half, and it would be very stupid for you to stay here and leave the Evil Queen to raise your child."

"Regina, listen to me," he begs and takes her hand in his, waits until she looks up at him and then says, "I love _you._ "

"Robin-"

"You and Regina are the same to me," he insists looking straight into her eyes. "I love you both and I'm not going to leave you, don't even think about it."

"I'm the Evil Queen. She's the hero. I think it's obvious which one of us you're going to choose."

"No, you're wrong. When I first saw you in the woods, you were not a hero. When I had a crush on you, you threatened to kill every single one in your castle, including me. When I kissed you for the first time, you were just Regina. I love that you are a hero now, "Regina rolls her eyes at the word 'hero' – she's far from it, she's the Evil Queen, _Regina_ is the hero. "You're the same person, and I will never think differently."

"I'm the evil half,"

"I love you," Robin repeats, "and I'm not going to leave you."

"But you will."

"What do I have to prove myself to you?" he asks, looking at her desperately. "I hate seeing you like that. All I ever wanted is happiness for you and now I've caused so much pain. Please, let me make this right. Let me prove that I'm not going anywhere. Give me a chance."

"Just leave me alone, Robin," she asks in a weak voice and turns to the other side, pressing a blanket closer to herself and closing her eyes tightly, hoping that she'll manage to stay strong until Robin walks out of the room.

(…)

It's been two months since Robin found out that Regina is pregnant and that she knows that somehow he came back. These months have been filled with heartache and tears, and only now does Regina realize that maybe, just maybe she's been so emotional just because she's pregnant.

She spent her days thinking, preparing herself to lose Roland. She's not planning to give up her baby anymore, she might not be a perfect mother but she can learn and try to be good, she'll do everything in her power to make her baby happy.

She hasn't said a single word to Robin during these months. They would meet in the hallways and he would just smile at her but whenever he tried to tell her something, she would wave her hand up in the air and disappear. But Robin still came into Roland's room every night and watched her sleep (she knew that because Roland told her one evening).

He tried to prove to her that he loved her and he was willing to wait for as long as she needed. Sometimes he would stop her in the garden and ask to talk to the baby, he would sit by her side for hours in silence, not touching her, not talking, just sitting there and thinking.

He would tell her he loves her so much and she wouldn't return the sentiment, she wouldn't even react but the next day he would still say the same. He tried and tried and tried, he never gave up and now Regina realizes that he's more than proved that himself.

He proved that he's worth her trust. It is worth to give him a chance.

So tonight when Roland curls into her side to sleep, she does everything in her power not to. She waits and waits and waits until after what feels like hours of waiting, the door of the chamber opens and Robin walks in.

When he sees that Regina is awake, he stops walking, his eyes wide.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were asleep," he apologizes immediately and turns around to leave.

Regina inhales deeply and says quietly, "You can stay. If you want to, of course."

Robin turns around immediately, his eyes opened wide in surprise and for a moment he just stands there and stares at her but then he quickly blinks his eyes and walks closer to her. He sits down on the edge of the bed and Regina can see how he quickly glances down to her now visible bump and then focuses back on her face.

She smiles a bit and takes his hand in hers, puts it on top of her belly where just moments ago the baby kicked. Robin smiles too, obviously surprised, but he doesn't comment, only runs his hand over her belly until he feels a kick.

He chuckles quietly (Roland is sleeping beside Regina and they don't need him to wake up) and looks up to Regina, his eyes full of tears.

"You didn't tell me the baby is kicking." He whispers and gets another kick in response.

Regina's smile only widens and she says, "Well, from now on I can tell you everything, if you want to."

"Of course I do," Robin's reply is instant.

"And if you want, you can stay in our chambers," she adds after a moment of silence.

"Are you sure?"

Regina hesitates for a moment but then inhales deeply and says, "I'm sorry for the way I acted. I overreacted and was afraid. You… mean the world to me and the thought of losing you-" she stops for a moment to take a shaky breath, shaking her head. "But you proved to me that you love me and that you're willing to stay. And… you deserve a chance, Robin. I'm sorry that I tortured you for so long."

"Are you serious?" he asks, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I am," she nods her head and then all of a sudden she's in his arms and he's holding her close, chuckling into her hair. She has to stop herself from crying when she feels his wet cheek touch hers but then suddenly he's pulling away and pressing his lips against hers.

"You just made me the happiest man on this planet," he says, smiling at her widely before leaning over and pecking her belly.

"Robin, listen to me," Regina asks, putting her hands on his cheeks and making him look at her. "If you ever change your mind, you can go. You can go back to Regina. I will understand."

"I love you," he says instead, and then he's pulling her into a kiss again and she relaxes in his arms, thinking that maybe, just maybe the Evil Queen has finally found her happy ending.


	4. Chapter 4

Day 4 - Pre-curse OQ Happy Ending

(...)

Blankly Robin stared at the cup of ale in front of him. Laughter could be heard around him as his friends rose their glasses and drank, pulling random girls closer to themselves, shamelessly flirting, but Robin could barely hear them, too lost in his own head.

He would be doing the same thing his friends were doing if one year ago the Queen wouldn't have entered this tavern. He would be drinking his night away, kissing random girls around the corner freely, unbothered now.

But the Queen had entered the tavern. She had stolen Robin's heart and soul in a blink and now that she'd left him, he felt as if he was drowning. He didn't know how to be himself anymore; all he felt was pain that the woman who changed his world had to sacrifice their relationship in order to save his life from her cruel mother.

Robin was foolish enough to believe that they would and could be happy together. She was the Queen of Enchanted Forest, and he was only a thief with some lion tattoo (tattoo, that said they were meant to be together) but the social status didn't matter, nothing mattered, Robin thought they would escape her husband and be together.

Sighing sadly, Robin takes a gulp of his ale.

It's been six months since he saw her the last time. That day she was teary-eyed and shaking as she ran into the very same tavern he's sitting right now, telling him that her mother was back and that the monster knew about their affair. Regina was sobbing when she told him that the only way to save Robin's life was to stop seeing each other.

Robin stills remembers that day as if it happened moments ago. He still remembers how soft her lips were as she kissed him one last time. His own eyes were filled with tears when her wet cheeks pressed against his, when her hands gripped his shoulders one last time.

And then she was gone.

Feeling a lump forming in his throat, Robin empties the cup of ale and mutters to John, who's very busy kissing some girl, that he's going to refill his cup. His friend doesn't even react to his words, so Robin stands up and turns around to walk to the bar but when he catches _her._

Regina is standing there, in this tavern, right in front of him. She's bent over a bit, her head rested against the doorway for support. She has a thick fur wrapped all around her body, her soft hair is cascading down her face but Robin can see her grimace, can see how she struggles to breath.

He's rotten in his place, blinking his eyes over and over again, not believing that she's actually here.

Finally snapping out of his shock, Robin puts the cup on the table and makes his way towards her. The closer he gets to her, the faster his heart beats in his chest, his palms becoming sweaty.

Suddenly something happens to Regina and she almost falls to the ground, her head thrown back, her mouth opened in a silent scream and Robin cannot control himself anymore. He runs straight to her, wrapping his arms around her before she can fall.

"Regina!" he exclaims, holding her in his arms, feeling his heart jumping in his chest. "Are you okay?"

She slowly lifts her head a bit to look at him. Her cheeks are wet, face red, eyes bloodshot and Robin grits his teeth in anger – if that bastard touched her again, Robin will kill him. He swears to Gods he'll slit the King's throat and watch that man bleed to death.

"Robin," she manages to say but then her face turns into a grimace and soon she lets out a silent scream, her eyes squeezed shut.

Confused, Robin furrows his brow. He doesn't understand what is happened, he doesn't understand what hurts her so much, so he hesitantly tightens his arms around her so that she doesn't fall to the ground in her agony.

After a few moments Regina finally lets out an easier sigh and tries to pull away from Robin, straighten herself and that's when Robin finally sees it – her huge bump. The fur around her covers her stomach protectively as does the thick dress and any other person would just think that the Queen has gained weight.

Robin knows her body like the back of his hand and this curve on her front is definitely a baby bump.

"Regina," he gasps in surprise, his eyes wide as he looks up from her belly to her eyes and she only bites her lips and squeezes her eyes shut, her palms turning into fists as her whole body tenses.

Only then does Robin realize that she's in labor.

It takes everything in him to stop himself from panicking but he manages to breathe through the uneasiness in his stomach. He tightens his arm around Regina and motions with his head towards the small room upstairs, "Let's get you somewhere quieter."

Regina doesn't fight him, just nods her head quickly and bites her lip hard. Robin inhales shakily, mentally encouraging himself and slowly starts to walk her to the stairs. She winces with every step, and he wonders how long she's been suffering this pain but then they finally reach the end of the stairs and Robin quickly pushes the door open and leads Regina inside.

There's a small bed, a bed where whores do their job and any other time Regina would have grimaced at the fact but now she lies down on the bed without a fight and sighs in what Robin hopes is relief.

"What are you doing here?" Robin asks as he puts a pillow under her back to make her more comfortable.

When he pulls away, Regina grabs his hand and looks straight into his eyes. "Nobody knows that I'm pregnant," she says, her voice as steady as it can be in a situation like this, "I had to protect the baby, Robin, I couldn't let anybody know."

"I have to find a midwife, Regina," Robin glances down at her belly and stands up then, not knowing what else to do.

Regina tightens her hold on his hand and stops him. When he looks at her confused, she insists, "No midwifes. No one can know about this, Robin. You'll help me." Her hold on him becomes stronger as she grimaces again and Robin feels powerless standing there and watching her suffering.

"Are you out of your mind?" Robin asks when the contraction is over and her beautiful features relax a bit. He shakes his head even though Regina is not looking.

"We can't risk it," Regina tells him, tears in her eyes. "Robin, if my mother or Leopold or even Rumple find out about our baby, he will be dead before he's even born." The tone of her voice makes goose bumps raise on his skin and he's not sure if it's the threat or the revelation that the baby is his that had such effect on him.

Another contraction comes and this time Regina screams out in pain, her grip making Robin grit his teeth. She struggles to catch her breath, her face turning red and he curses under his breath, not knowing what to do.

He knows that Regina's mother wouldn't pity their child, she would kill the baby instantly. He knows that Regina would suffer then too, and she's suffered most of her life already, she does not deserve more pain.

Robin swallows hard, his hands shaking from panic.

"What will we need?" he asks when Regina starts breathing again and she manages a small smile before the hardest part begins.

(…)

"He's so small," Robin whispers into Regina's hair as he watches down to the pink newborn on her chest.

Regina smiles weakly and says, "I am so lucky he is small. Otherwise, it would have been so much harder to hide my pregnancy. Someone would have found out about it and –" she stops for a moment and shakes her head, her eyes closing. "I don't even want to think what would have happened to him."

Robin hums in response. Their son would be killed, Regina would probably be locked up for the rest of her life in dungeons for betraying the King. The thought makes him tense.

"What will we do now?" he asks, trying to push these thoughts away – she's here now safe and so is the baby. No one can harm them anymore.

For a long moment Regina is silent, and Robin wonders if she's fallen asleep but then she finally sighs and shrugs her shoulders.

"I love you," Robin whispers into her hair then, his voice soothing.

"I love you too," Regina echoes and rests her head against his shoulder before falling into a much needed slumber.

(…)

In the morning, Robin wakes up alone. He finds the side of the bed bloody but empty and cold. Roland lets out a piercing cry then and Robin immediately lifts his gaze up until he notices the baby and immediately takes him into his arms as carefully as he can, shushing him.

When the baby calms down in his arms, he takes another look around the room. There's a small piece of paper on the chair and when Robin takes it into his hand, he recognizes the handwriting instantly.

 _"_ _Dear Robin,_

 _I know you have never wanted children but you have one now and I have no doubt that you'll raise him well. Please, do not look for me, do not try to reach me, we both know it will end badly._

 _Just keep Roland safe and love him for the both of us._

 _I love you both more than words can tell,_

 _Regina."_

(…)

Regina storms into her chambers and shuts the door behind her with a wave of her head. She quickly wipes away the fake tears from her cheeks – she's had to pretend that she was sad that her very sweet husband was killed, she had to fool everyone and act like she was heartbroken when in reality she was celebrating her best victory.

Mother is away, Leopold is dead, and she controls her own magic now, she does not need Rumple anymore.

She's not felt so free in her whole life.

Not wasting a single moment, Regina demands the guards to take her carriage and moments later she's in the middle of the forest, heading towards Sherwood.

The whole way her hands are shaking, she tries to keep her emotions under control. She's dreamt about this moment for so long but she's never thought it would actually happen.

After a few hours she gets out of the carriage and makes her way to the campsite she saw on her mirror a few days ago.

She's never came here but she's watched Robin and Roland through her mirror. She watched how her son would run around the campsite shouting and screaming while his father chased after him. She celebrated Roland's birthdays, singing 'Happy Birthday' songs to him along his father. She watched how he tried to shoot an arrow for the first time secretly and almost got hurt.

Roland has never seen her but she was always there.

She did disappear from his life but she always tried to make sure that he was safe and happy.

Now nobody was holding her back anymore. She didn't have to watch him through the mirror anymore. She could finally meet him in person.

Inhaling deeply, Regina forces her legs to move. She takes a step closer, her hands shaking at her sides, her breath hitching in her throat as she enters the camp and notices the most handsome boy running around the bonfire.

Everything around her stop while she watches her son. There are gasps heard in the background but Regina doesn't move her eyes away from Roland until a strong hand is rested on her shoulder and she's being turned around.

"Regina!"

"Robin!" she exclaims and wraps her arms around him immediately. Her heart is beating like crazy in her chest as Robin wraps his arms around her tightly, holding her close to him.

"What are you doing here?" he asks, burying his nose in her hair, inhaling her scent.

Regina does the same – Gods, she missed the smell of forest.

"I killed my husband," she finally says as she pulls away from him and looks straight into his eyes. "I killed him, Robin, I'm free now." Robin's eyes widen in surprise and then he grins and pulls her even closer, lifts her from the ground and turns around.

"You're free," he lets out a shout and presses his lips against hers.

Regina chuckles into the kiss and tightens her arms around Robin's neck but then suddenly he stops kissing her and pulls away a bit, looks down. She follows his gaze and finds Roland standing beside them, his dark wonderful eyes staring at them.

Regina has to press her lips together in a thin line so she doesn't start sobbing.

"Roland," Robin starts, quickly picking the boy up from the ground and turning back to Regina. He smiles at her and continues, "Do you remember that I told you had a mama out there who had to leave so she could protect us?" The boy nods, looking from Regina to Robin. "Well, Roland, mama came back to us."

"Mama?" Roland asks shyly looking straight at her.

Her eyes fill with tears as she manages a quiet, "Hi, baby," before smiling at him. A few drops fall down her cheeks as she looks at her son, a beautiful boy who had to spend his first four years without a mother. Her heart clenches at the thought.

The boy looks skeptically at her for a moment before grinning, dimples appearing in his cheeks.

"Can I hug you?" Regina asks awkwardly and the boy nods his head eagerly before stretching his arms out for her.

As soon as her hands wrap around the boy, something inside her just clicks. Suddenly all the rage she felt for Snow White disappears, all her troubles with Rumple don't seem so important, all that pain she's felt after losing her lover and son doesn't seem to matter anymore.

And as Robin's arms wrap around the two of them, Regina feels complete.


	5. Chapter 5

Day 5 - Cursed Happy Ending (First curse)

(...)

When Regina opens the front door she smiles to Robin and nervously tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. It seems that she's relieved that he came but at the same time it makes her anxious. However, she doesn't voice any of her thoughts and lets him in without a word.

Robin steps inside, closes the door behind him and takes off his coat. He's been here this morning, drove Henry to school because Regina had some kind of emergency in a mayor office, and it seemed so casual to be here then but now after the evening they've had, he feels like a fish out of the water.

He did a very stupid thing tonight. He proposed to her at Granny's, during the town's festival.

It felt like a rational, right step in their relationship after more than five years of being together. It felt right to take that step because he loved Regina and Henry, he loved the life they've had together.

However, Regina didn't accept his proposal. Her eyes had turned wide as she'd shaken her head with mouth opened in surprise. He brushed it off, didn't want to make a big deal out of it because even though he felt hurt, he loves her too much to let something like this ruin what they have.

"Is Henry asleep?" Robin asks, glancing towards the stairs.

"Yes, he is," Regina says simply as she leads him to the kitchen, not even glancing at him. "We can talk in private."

"Regina, I'm so sorry that I made you feel uncomfortable," he apologizes as soon as they walk into the kitchen and she turns around to face him. "I thought that we were on the same page but we're clearly not and it's fine. Let's not make a big deal out of it."

"I… I would like to marry you," she tells him hesitantly. He has never seen her like this – alarmed, anxious, insecure. She's always confident and brave and funny and his heart breaks for her.

"You would?" he asks surprised.

"There's something you should know about me first," she adds then as a nervous smile spreads across her face.

Robin nods his head and inhales deeply, ready to listen.

However, Regina doesn't rush to spill the beans. Instead she nervously tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and tells Robin to sit down on one of the chairs while she opens the cabinet and takes out a bottle of whiskey. She then takes two glasses and pours the liquid into them before turning around and placing one of the glasses in front of Robin, the other is held in her shaky hands.

Robin frowns. He barely recognizes her.

"Your friendship means everything to me," she starts after emptying her glass and pouring herself another. "I don't think I've had someone as close to me as you in my whole life and I do not want to lose you." Robin arches an eyebrow at her because her voice starts to shake and she just shakes her head and continues, "Robin… What I'm going to say to you will sound like madness but please listen to me."

"Regina, what are you trying to say?"

"We are not from his realm. Once upon a time we lived in a place called Enchanted Forest," she starts, the glass shaking in her hand. "I was the Evil Queen and you were-"

"Robin Hood."

Regina's eyes turn wide and that glass drops from her hand, turning into aches as soon as it comes to contact with the floor. Her mouth opens a few times but she doesn't manage to say anything and just stares at him.

Robin sighs.

"Your curse didn't affect me," he reveals making Regina gasp. "One day I was sleeping in my tent in Enchanted Forest as a criminal and the next morning I woke up in some strange small chamber with my son who insisted that he needs to go to kindergarten."

"How is it even possible?" she asks, blinking her eyes. "This curse was supposed to affect everyone. Only the most powerful sorceress could avoid it but not all of them were able to overcome it."

"I think it has to do something with true love," Robin says as he stands up and takes a step closer to her.

"What?"

"You're my soulmate, I think that's the only possible reason why your curse didn't affect me," he tells her and Regina immediately steps back until her back collides with the refrigerator door.

"How do you know that?"

"After Marian died, I was in a very bad place. One night when I tried to… end my misery, a fairy appeared and said that we all get a second chance. She led me to my soulmate – and it was you."

Regina blinks her eyes, stunned, but doesn't say anything and Robin continues, "I didn't approach you then, you were the Queen after all, and then you became the Evil Queen and I was back on my feet, didn't want to risk my life and leave my son an orphan in case you wasn't up for an adventure."

She just shakes her head. "So you knew… this whole time… and you didn't want to, I don't know, break this curse? Your son, he's… trapped. As are your friends. Even you – you're forced to live this life with no changes, no adventures, no-"

"I wanted to break it," he admits. "That first time when I came into your office, I had a plan – I had to make you fall for me and then I would find your weakness, use it against you and make you break this curse, return us to our land."

At that Regina takes a step back and her hand blindly reaches for the knife. She stares at him, judging every move he makes, her eyes have darkened and he has no doubts that if he tried to as much as touch her right now, his throat would be slit open.

Her eyes are huge and wide and for a moment she glances towards the stairs. Henry is her weakness, and if he was still following his plan, the boy would be the perfect tool to make Regina break this damn curse. But he doesn't care about any of this anymore.

"But then I saw you and… magic happened, I guess," he admits with a shrug. "I fell in love with you earlier than you did, before we even kissed. I was hopeless when it came to you and all of a sudden I didn't care anymore if we were cursed or not, all I cared about was that you were with me."

Regina blinks her eyes but the knife is still in her hands.

"I mean no harm, Regina," he assures her, testily taking a step closer and she rises that knife she's been holding, making Robin stop. "If I really wanted to hurt you or Henry, I would have done it already," he says.

She must realize that too because Henry's been spending so much time with Robin lately and she, only a few weeks ago, was blindfolded and tied up to his bed. And he did nothing to hurt her. But he could.

Her whole body tenses, her eyes darkening. "You need to get out of here," she says, her voice dangerously low.

"I am not going anywhere," Robin disagrees, shaking his head. "I love you, Regina, and I don't care what you did in the past. I know who you are now and I swear to you on Marian's memory, I do not have any more plans to destroy you."

"You do know that we'll never be together again," she tells him, and it seems that she's gained her confidence back because this time she's taking a step closer to him, a knife still in hand. When she reaches him, Robin doesn't step back, he just stares into her eyes. "Everything is over."

"I will not give up so easily, you know," he tells her, "because I know that you have feelings for me and so do I. I love you, Regina Mills. And you can try to scare me away but I won't stop loving you because we're soulmates, we were destined to be together."

"How can you love me knowing everything I did?" she asks disrupted. Her hand has fallen down, she's not pointing the knife to him anymore. "I killed so many people, including my own father, I tortured and murdered and I have not changed. My heart is black, Robin, I still feel satisfaction whenever I see Snow White's miserable face in the hospital as she sits with her dear dead Charming."

"I love you, Regina," Robin says, "I loved you for so long, I cannot even imagine my life without you. I do not justify what you did – but you would be applauded for killing that bastard that was your husband – but it is in the past now. You enjoy watching Snow suffer but she turned your life into hell, so that's her price. But you're not a monster, you're hurt but there's good in you. I know. Your heart is resilient."

"You know nothing about the real me," she shakes her head. "You know about the mayor, bits about my childhood but you do not know what demons I have in my head, you-"

"I don't care, Regina," he cuts off her rambling. His hand rises to touch her soft cheek and her eyes close momentarily and he strokes it lightly. When her eyes open, Robin leans over and kisses her, then promises, "I'm with you, always."

"You don't understand what you're talking about," she whispers.

Her walls are crumbling down around her as her eyes fill with tears. She tries to pull away from Robin but he rests his hand on her lower back, keeping her close. She could easily pull away from him if she really wanted to, but she stays close to him and stares directly into his eyes.

"We don't have to get married," Robin tells her, still stroking her cheek absentmindedly. "I don't even have to live with you. But please, don't push me away. Don't break us apart just because you think you're not meant to be loved. Now that you know the whole truth, we can-"

"I'm not sure I can trust you," she interrupts him.

"Then I'll have to prove that I'm worth your trust."

"It's not going to be easy."

"I've always liked a challenge."

For a moment, she looks at him but then her eyes close and she puts the knife on the table, then wraps her arms around Robin and rests her head on his shoulder. He immediately wraps his own arms around her form, inhaling her apple scent.

As he holds her in his arms, the uncertainty of their relationship seems to be miles away. He doesn't know what will happen now, what she'll decide but he knows for sure that no matter what happens, she'll always be his happy ending.


	6. Chapter 6

Day 7 - Canon OQ Happy Ending

(...)

"Where are we going?" Regina asks, curiously turning to look from one Henry to another.

Both of her boys shrug at her question mysteriously but grin to each other, making Regina arch her eyebrow at them – they are obviously up to something again.

They've been celebrating her coronation as the Good Queen when all of a sudden her younger son came to her and insisted that she has to go with him. Confused, Regina excused herself and followed her son. Soon, the older Henry joined them and they led her towards the hall where a few hours ago she was crowned.

Sighing, Regina shakes her head to herself and doesn't ask any more questions, figures they will not tell her anything anyway.

Their walk is quick and when they finally reach the hall, younger Henry lets go of her hand and pushes the heavy door open while the older one walks her inside.

Regina's eyes widen in surprise when she sees a few people standing there. Archie is standing in the middle of the podium where a few hours ago the Charmings crowned her, smiling at her warmly. Robyn is standing on the left side of it, holding Alice's hand tightly, a huge smile on her face.

"What is happening?" Regina asks quietly, looking around the hall. "Queenie?" she asks in surprise when she notices her past evil half standing there too with Wish Robin by her side, a smile on her face matching her niece's.

Even Robin is not grumpy in Regina's presence.

"Henry, what is going on?" she asks again, this time more firmly, when she sees Snow White wiping the corners of her eyes as she gives Regina a watery smile, all the while holding David's hand as tightly as possible.

She stops walking and stares at all of them, trying to understand what is happening. The Queen and Robin didn't turn up to her coronation (they are still in their honeymoon phase, even after a decade of marriage) but they are here now and so are the people who already congratulated her.

Anxiously, Regina tightens her hand around Henry's. Something is off.

"Regina."

An unknown voice calls her name and she turns her head to the side immediately. A young man walks into the hall from the other entrance and makes his way towards her.

Regina feels her legs shaking underneath her.

Her jaw drops open in shock as she takes the man in – his brown messy curls, big dark brown eyes and deep dimples in his cheeks.

"Roland!" She whispers, not believing her own eyes.

When she united all of the realms, she tried to find Roland, however, she was unsuccessful - she couldn't find Merry Men, Roland or Queen and Robin, they all were gone somehow. But now all of them are here (she notices Little John, Friar Tuck and Will standing on the right side of the podium), grinning at her as if they were children on Christmas' morning.

Roland doesn't waste time, he walks up to Regina and pulls her into a tight hug. Tears of happiness immediately collect in her eyes, and she only wraps her arms tighter around the boy that is now much taller than she is.

She holds him for what feels like forever but when he pulls away, her heart aches at the loss of contact. She might not be his mother but she's loved him as her own from the day she saved him from that winged-freak. During years after Robin's death, she's spent so much time thinking about the boy. She has never forgiven herself for letting him go so easily.

She blinks her tears away and smiles at him, he's such a handsome young man.

Roland returns a smile and takes a step to the side.

Regina's heart stops beating, her eyes turn wide when she sees who is standing in front of the podium.

Her whole body tenses when the figure says 'milady' and she thinks that her mind is playing some sort of cruel game on her. It must be Queenie's Robin who's just said that, and Robin standing in front of her must be an illusion, there's no other rational explanation to this.

Exhaling shakily, Regina blinks her eyes repeatedly, trying to make the figure go away.

But it doesn't fade.

Regina's mouth opens in surprise for the second time as Robin, her Robin takes a step closer to her. He's dressed in his clothes from Enchanted Forest and when he approaches her, she cannot help but inhale deeply – whoever this person is, he smells like forest, just like _Robin_ did.

"Your Majesty," he says and bows in front of her, a smirk on his face.

"Robin?" Regina asks, her lower lip trembling, eyes full of tears. Not knowing what to do, she pinches herself and hisses at the pain – she's not sleeping. "I don't understand," she manages to say, looking from Robin to Henry, shaking her head.

"I've missed you," Robin tells her as he reaches for her and Regina falls into his arms, no longer holding back her tears. Her arms wrap tightly around him and his do the same, pulling her as close to him as possible.

His arms are strong and secure around her, and she doesn't know if it is actually happening or is someone playing with her mind but it feels so real. Her emotions are in overdrive, it takes everything in her not to sob.

"Are you alive?" she asks stupidly as they part, staring straight into his deep blue eyes, eyes she was born to gaze into.

"I am, milady," he tells her, smiling warmly at her. There are tears in his own eyes too and his arms only tighten around her as he pulls her to his chest again.

"But… how?"

"Your other half brought me back," he replies, and Regina can feel his chest vibrating under her ear, she can hear his heart beating rapidly.

He's actually alive.

"Well, I had some help," the Queen says, glancing at the Merry Men and Roland. "We've been on quite a journey until we found him."

"What?" Regina asks as she pulls away from Robin and turns to look to the Queen. "Is it some kind of joke? Is it actually happening?"

Still in shock she turns back to Robin who wipes a few stray tears from her cheeks and says, "We're here now. And this is true."

And then his lips are on hers.

Her heart threatens to jump out of her chest as they break apart and she blinks her eyes again and again until her vision clears.

"Come," Robin says suddenly, biting his lip.

Still confused and shocked by what just happened Regina follows him wordlessly. They walk to the podium and when they are standing in front of Archie, Robin turns to look back at Regina.

"Regina Mills, I loved you from the day I met you. We've been through so much, but not even death can tear us apart. And now when we are together, I don't want to waste another moment of our lives. So I'm asking you, will you marry me?" His voice is shaking as are his hands and this time a tear rolls down Robin's cheek as well.

"Of course," Regina whispers as she cups her face and pulls him into another kiss, still not sure if it is actually happening.

"Let's start then," Archie says when Robin and Regina pull apart, and they both smile goofily at one other before trying to focus on what cricket is saying.

Everything happens in a blur. Before she knows it, they are pronounced husband and wife and Robin is leaning over to kiss her again, and the people in the hall are applauding them.

And as Regina wraps her arms around her now husband's neck and kisses him back, she realizes that she'll have a lot of things to figure out.

But none of this matters now because finally, after heartache that lasted for decades, she's with the love of her life.

Robin Hood might not be her happy ending but without him, happiness just wasn't real happiness.

Now she finally has everything she's ever wanted.

(...)

 **Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited and followed my works this week! I hope you liked it!**


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